1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and method for interfacing electronic devices that is capable of reducing the number of required connector pins of a multi-pin connector and/or the number of required input/output (I/O) ports of a processor.
2. Background Information
Certain electronic devices, such as hand-held personal media players, may utilize an interface apparatus such as a docking station to perform certain functions such as battery re-charging, data transfer with other devices and/or other functions. The connection between such an electronic device and its interface apparatus may for example be achieved through multi-pin connectors (i.e., one male connector and one female connector). One approach for using multi-pin connectors in this context is to dedicate a given pin connection to a given function. In this manner, “X” pin connections would yield “X” corresponding functions. A given pin connection may also correspond to a given I/O port of a processor within the electronic device.
With the aforementioned type of design, functional limitations arise based on the number of available pin connections and/or the number of processor I/O ports. These limitations may be particularly problematic for certain types of electronic devices and interface apparatuses where issues, such as size constraints, may significantly restrict the number of available pin connections and/or the number of processor I/O ports.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method for interfacing electronic devices that addresses the foregoing problems and is capable of reducing the number of required connector pins of a multi-pin connector and/or the number of required I/O ports of a processor. The present invention addresses these and/or other issues.